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A.J. shows no fatigue on day after night game

A.J. shows no fatigue on day after night game

ANAHEIM -- Facing lefty C.J. Wilson was enough for White Sox manager Robin Ventura to move his left-handed-hitting catcher A.J. Pierzynski down in the lineup one spot, to sixth.

It was not, however, enough for Ventura to give Pierzynski the day off, despite Thursday's 12:35 p.m. PT first pitch after a night game. In fact, Ventura said he'll likely start Pierzynski on Friday against the Cubs, too, even though it's another day game, this one on the heels of a long flight. His decision looked correct after a 6-1 win Thursday, in which Pierzynski had three hits and drove in a pair of runs.

"With the weird schedule, he feels fine," Ventura said. "So we'll just go ahead and have him in there today and probably even tomorrow."

More than anything, Ventura said it's hard to take one of his team's most potent bats out of the lineup. Pierzynski finsihed Thursday hitting .299, with five homers and 26 RBIs.

"Part of it is you have that," Ventura said. "And with some of the rest he got earlier, it pays off at different times, being able to feel strong and play for a while."